NASA satellite captures mysterious 'smoke' billowing from Antarctica's surface

A NASA satellite captured rare 'sea smoke' over an Antarctic glacier. (Image: Getty)

A NASA satellite has captures shocking images of rare "sea smoke" rising from a glacier in Antarctica. 

The atmospheric phenomenon was observed above the Pine Island Glacier, one of the continent's most vital and vulnerable ice masses. 

The stunning images were captured with the US Geological Survey's Landsat 8 satellite, which was co-developed with NASA.

The sea smoke formed at the glacier's edge was seen on an unusually clear day and caused by powerful katabatic winds coming from central Antarctica and moving towards the coast. 

Cloud cover normally obscures the sea smoke, which forms when ice, water, and air interact. Winds push water ans sea ice away from the front of the glacier as warmer water underneath wells up.

The image was captures from 438 miles high. (Image: NASA Earth Observatory/ Wanmei Liang)

When the warm water meets the cold air, it condenses into small ice crystals that look like smoke rising from the surface of the water.

Christopher Shuman, a glaciologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said the stunning images highlight "the power of the wind".

He said: "One really shouldn't be surprised to see winds coming out of the interior with all the cold winter air that's been isolated there for months." 

Kabatic winds are created when dense, cold air flows down towards the coast - typical of the Antarctic climate. 

Pine Island Glacier is part of a vital pathway of ice flowing from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet into the Amundsen Sea, but has been shrinking significantly recently.

The satellite also captures snow streams being whipped up by kabatic winds in a phenomenon that is particularly visible near the southern edge of the glacier. 

Scientists are now looking to discover how the snow blowing across the glacier affects its surface mass balance - a significant process that will prove challenging due to remote locations and harsh conditions.